Google will reportedly share some revenue with news publishers

Google is reportedly gearing up to share revenue with news publishers, the Financial Times reports. The plan is to combine Google’s treasure trove of personal data with machine learning algorithms to help news publications grow and maintain its subscriber base.

For each new subscriber Google brings to the table, the company will reportedly take up to a 30 percent finder’s fee. The agreements will reportedly be similar to the deals Google has with traditional advertisers through its AdSense business.

Update 1:27pm PT: Google says the 30 percent finder’s fee is not true and that the company has not reached any conclusions on the revenue side. A spokesperson went on to say that the revenue-share will be very generous in favor of publishers.

This comes after Google earlier this month said it would make it easier for paywalled sites like The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, etc. to get more subscribers. Part of that entailed giving publishers the option to place limits on how many articles people can access for free via Google Search. Before, Google required publishers to offer up at least three stories a day for free via Google Search.

Google is not the only one trying to make life a little easier for digital news organizations. Last week, Facebook began testing subscription support for instant articles. As part of Facebook’s new initiative, it requires publishers to offer up at least ten articles for free to readers.

Featured Image: Bloomua/Shutterstock